Earlier this month we shared with you the work virtual agency was doing for Network for Animals. It was a series of videos on YouTube that took us through the process of selecting a spokesperson to appear in a commercial for the cause group. Well, gig has found their man. And we can say man because, well, it is a man. His name is Owen Miller and if Morgan Freeman had a brother (does he?), this guy would be him.

So here's the finished product. And here's all the lead up videos to the finished product.

- Google Vs Facebook from MyBrandz attempts to determine which social service is better for you.

- GPY&R Melbourne challenged its audience to eat a Picnic in the space of a :30 commercial break. People filmed themselves using mobile phones, webcams and handycams and then created their own TV ads using the website, http://www.itsnopicnic.tv.

Ooo! Ooo! Facebook Fan Pages work for marketers! A recent study conducted by Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business found companies that use Facebook fan pages can increase sales, word-of-mouth marketing and customer loyalty.

The study's researchers, Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business associate professor of management Utpal Dholakia and Restaurant Connections Founder Emily Durham who did the research for Houston-based café Dessert Gallery found the use of a fan page increased store visits by 36 percent, increased amount spent by 45 percent and increased loyalty by 41 percent.

- Using its Facebook fan page with a membership of 3.7 million, Skittles' "Valentine the Rainbow" lets users create a digital valentine for an unsuspecting, hand-picked meter maid, one of the most hated professions in the country and one that deserves some sweet lovin'.

On Monday, SocialFresh held a conference in Tampa at the Doubletree Hotel. There were about 250 attendees or the day-long event. The usual social media-related topics were covered but, more importantly, we all gathered to watch the Super Bowl together Sunday night before the conference began.

Once the conference did begin, keynote speaker Maggie Fox from Social Media Group touched on how her company handles social media and uttered an all-important notion we've said over and over again here: Viral is a thing that happens. Not a strategy. Indeed. While you can certainly plan and make every conceivable effort to enable something to go viral, until it goes viral, it ain't viral.

In a different kind of Movement, Chevrolet will send eight teams on a road trip to Austin for SXSW. Departing from San Diego, Detroit, Lansing, Chicago, Atlanta, South Florida, North Carolina and New York in early March, the teams will be given a series of clues to various destinations along the way and be asked to participate in several challenges (50 per team in all some of which will be "crowd sourced") such as using OnStar to assist someone along the way, stop at an animal shelter and give a dog a walk, grab a pen from a Chevrolet dealership, stuff the trunk of the vehicle full of balloons, meet up with a Twitter follower and give them a ride in the vehicle, sing in a public place and more.

Drivers and their teams will blog their adventures on a Posterous blog. GM is clear to point out speed to Austin is not part of the challenge. Winners will be determined challenge performance and the level of audience engagement they engender along the way.

Once again it's the battle of the Twitter Super Bowl hashtags. Last year, there were about four that played prominently. In fact, we had one of our own. Can't even remember what it was. And we don't care. This year, we're letting someone else do all the work. An agency with, unlike us, an army of talented creative and technical people who can put stuff like Brand Bowl 2010 together.

So make sure you leave a tab handy in your browser for Brand Bowl. You can see how the ads rank based on tweets and other metrics. You can log in right from the Brand Bowl page and barf your Super Bowl commercial opinion for all to see. Oh, and there's a sweet link to Hulu where all the ads will be house once they air.

- Check out Whose Voice is That? It's all about celebrity voiceovers and they've just posted a Super Bowl commercial roundup that looks at ten classic Super Bowl spots making great use of the narrator and/or voiceover.

- "The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue," an exhibit that celebrates the contributions made to American business and to popular culture by the real stars of Madison Avenue, is coming to San Francisco for its first public showing outside of New York City at the Academy of Art University's 79 Gallery on New Montgomery Street February 24, 2010 for a one-week showing.

In a friendly little tit for tat (tweet for twat?) exchange between Amber, Mike and iJustine, Heinz is getting the word out about its new individual serving packaging.

For the first time in 40 years, the ketchup king has redesigned its packets. The new packets, which won't replace but be sold alongside existing packets, are shaped in a way that makes them usable for both dipping and squirting on food.

We're not claiming this is necessarily anything more than organic word of mouth. But if you know anything about Justine, she does love a good burger.

- Doritos leads CPG advertisers with 51% share of voice, Mars second place with 16%
- Denny's leads restaurant advertisers with 50% share of voice, Papa John's and Taco Bell second with 25% each
- Coca Cola leads beverages advertisers with 58% share of voice, Bud Light second with 22%
- Overall, Super Bowl conversations are mainly positive in nature
- The controversial Focus on the Family commercial causes the most pre Super Bowl buzz this year online
- Four out of the six automakers with an ad airing this year make it into the top 10 for early buzz
- Dodge and Honda have the most polarized posts compared to other commercials receiving early mentions